Completely Irrational: Archilles Spot Annabeth POV
by TheNextStevenSpielburg
Summary: Annabeth's reasoning for taking the dagger for Percy and reflection over her feelings for him. Flashbacks to the battle on the bridge while she waits for Percy up until he shows her his Archilles spot. Percabeth all the way.


******A/N: Just finished another Annabeth POV. Annabeth's thoughts after she's taken a dagger for Percy and unknowingly saved his life. Special request from VengefulMothSlayer, thank you so much for your review! I hope you like my take on this scene as well. As always, I love everyone's reviews and they are absolutely amazing. Requests and Criticisms are always welcome. Enjoy!**

**Disclamer: I dont own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All characters and Dialogue belong to Riordan.**

**Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Annabeth's POV**

Completely Irrational

Taken from pages 192- ? of _The Last Olympian_

_Why had I done it? Why had I taken that dagger?_: the questions I could see running through the minds of everyone around me as I lay there, my body shivering from the effects of the poison. I'm glad they refrain from questioning me aloud, because I'm honestly not sure what I would tell them. Percy had bathed in the river Styx, making him invincible; that wasn't exactly new news to the demigods of Camp Halfblood. Yet still, there was something about that one time, something about that one attack Ethan made on Percy… I let my eyes close as my thoughts wander back to the battle on the bridge.

Being a daughter of Athena, my entire life revolves around knowledge and wisdom, and the rational use of both tools. That's why I don't have an answer for the questioning eyes surrounding me; because there is _nothing _rational about risking my own life taking a dagger that would most likely just bounce off of Percy's impenetrable skin anyways.

I'd known this even before I'd thrown myself between him and the poisoned blade. At the time, it'd seemed to happen in slow motion. I'd watched Ethan come up behind Percy and ready himself for the attack. It was as if my mind was running on overdrive as logic reassured me that Ethan's weapon would have no effect on him, just as the other weapons attacking him hadn't. But even with the rationality behind those words staring me in the face, another part of my brain- a part so unpredictable and irrational, I shouldn't have been surprised to find it consumed by only thoughts of Percy- was screaming at me to protect him. I watched Ethan advance as my internal battle raged on; but just before the fatal blow could be delivered, rationality lost and I threw myself in front of Percy.

I'd had to do it. Even if the chances of Ethan- without my interference- actually hurting Percy were almost impossible, there was the nagging thought that if I _hadn't_ thrown myself in front of that dagger, it would have been the one blow he'd fail to deflect. It's that thought which makes all of the pain worth it. The poison is painful in the way I would expect fire and ice to be, running though my veins; caught in a never ending battle for dominance. My entire body was trapped by the searing, white hot pain radiating from my sickeningly green arm wound. But when compared to the thought of losing my Seaweed Brain, I realized I'd have taken the pain of a million poisoned daggers if he'd needed me to.

A cool dampness on my forehead lulls me back into reality. I opened my eyes to find Will and Percy pushing their way through a crowd of my half siblings. Before I know it, they're both at my side; Will gently removing the bandages surrounding my wound as Percy's expression fades from worry to alarm.

"Annabeth…" he barely manages to choke out, his voice faltering, as he directs his gaze away from my wound. The emotion behind his voice is nothing compared to the emotions I see swirling around in the deep sea green of his eyes.

"Poison on the dagger. Pretty stupid of me, huh?" I mumble, trying to lighten the mood before he has time to blame himself for my injury. My words are almost immediately followed by Will's sigh of relief.

"It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar." But Percy's already passing him the canteen before anyone else even has time to move. He met no protest when he reached for my hand as Will cleaned out my wound; I'm thankful to have something to hold onto as a scorching pain almost as bad as the poison itself stabs the area surrounding my shoulder.

I barely refrain from screaming as Will continues, "Ow, ow, ow!" I wince, tightening my grip on Percy's hand as his fingers begin to turn purple; it's all I can do to keep from jerking my shoulder out of Will's reach. I think Silena's mumbling in the background, but the pain is blocking my ability to hear clearly. Finally, just as I'm certain that I can take no more, Will finishes with a hymn to Apollo and reapplies bandages to my arm.

With some of the pain gone, I can finally focus on my surroundings. Percy's still here, holding my hand even though my grip has loosened and Will's getting back to his feet, looking about the same way I feel.

"That should do it. But we're going to need some mortal supplies," he warns. After a moment's consideration, he scribbles something on a piece of hotel stationary and hands it to another of my half siblings. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal-"

"I would," Travis says, earning him a disapproving glare from Will.

"Leave cash or Drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat," he states, his eyes wandering back over to me as if to emphasize his point. But it worked, nobody disagreed.

"Come on, guys. Let's give Annabeth some space. We've got a drugstore to raid… I mean, visit." There's a slight smile playing at the corner of his mouth as he adds in that last part.

Just after the Stoll brother finished speaking, the remaining demigods make their way back inside. Jake pauses to grab Percy's shoulder. "We'll talk later, but it's under control. I'm using Annabeth's shield to keep an eye on things. The enemy withdrew at sunrise; not sure why. We've got a lookout at each bridge and tunnel."

"Thanks, man," Percy adds and Jake reaches the terrace doors.

"Just take your time," Jake calls as they close behind him, leaving just Percy, Silena, and I alone outside.

I'd almost forgotten of Silena's presence behind me until she once again presses the cool cloth against my forehead. For a daughter of Aphrodite, Silena was a lot more selfness than many of her lesser cabin mates. "This is all my fault," she mumbles, her sudden outburst surprising both me and Percy.

"No," I say weakly, still exhausted and recovering from the day's events. "Silena, how is it your fault?" I question her, disbelievingly.

"I've never been any good at camp," she murmurs. "Not like you or Percy. If I was a better fighter…" her voice trails off as her mouth trembles, she looks to be on the verge of tears. What could she have possibly done which could seat the blame for any of this on her shoulders? She looks broken; she's looked that was ever since Beckendorf died. She didn't deserve this, neither of them deserved what had happened; one glance at Percy confirms that we're on the same page.

"You're a great camper," Percy reassures her. "You're the best Pegasus rider we have. And you get along with people. Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent," he adds in to prove his point. But it was true; being able to overlook all of Clarisse's anger and pride really did take talent. But he appears to have given her an idea, I can already see the gears turning in her head.

"That's it! We need the Ares cabin. I can talk to Clarisse. I _know_ I can convince her to help us," she pleads.

"Whoa, Silena. Even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she gets angry-"

"Please," she pleads again. "I can take a Pegasus. I _know_ I can make it back to camp. Let me try." Even through the still dulling pain in my arm, I can feel the desperation radiating from her words. Percy meets my eyes, silently asking my opinion; I nod in approval. Silena seemed more determined than ever to help, and at the very least she would be safe back at camp, away from this raging war.

"All right," Percy finally agrees. "I can't think of anybody better to try." His words are promptly followed by Silena throwing her arms around him. She steps back, awkwardly making eye contact with me, her expression is almost guilty, as if she's been caught doing something wrong.

"Um, sorry. Thank you, Percy! I won't let you down!" she promises as she runs inside.

As soon as Silena was gone, Percy was kneeling at my side, gingerly feeling my forehead as he did so. Even since Will's proclamation that I would be fine, the fear still remains in his eyes; the worry lines still remain in his brow. All of his concern being for her, completely ignoring the fact that it could quite possibly have been he who'd gotten stabbed by the poisoned dagger. No, right now, the way he was staring holding my gaze and still gently intertwining his hand with mine, I was sure we were thinking the exact same thing. Both of us were still soaking in the presence of the other.

"You're cute when you're worried," I mumble, hardly audibly. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together," I finish, still gazing into his eyes.

"You are _not _going to die while I owe you a favor," he declares, redirecting his sight down to our locked hands. After a moment he asks, "Why did you take that knife?" There's no hesitation as I reply.

"You would've done the same for me," I respond, completely confident of the truth in my answer. The question that so puzzled me earlier has now become perfectly clear, I took the knife because had the situation been reversed, he would have done the same; and we both knew it. We both knew that just as he had almost two years ago when I was kidnapped and taken to Atlas' mountain, Percy would stop at no lengths to rescue me- even if it meant holding up the sky in my place- and therefore, I would always do the same for him.

"How did you know?" a look of disbelief crossing his face as he questions me. I watched as confusion swept across his features, very much mimicking my own.

"Know what?" He looked around to make sure we were still alone, leaned in close enough that our faces were mere inches apart, and whispered: "My Archilles spot. If you hadn't taken that knife, I would've died." I almost began to shiver again as I realized just how close I'd come o losing him.

"I don't know, Percy. I just had this feeling you were in danger. Where?" I lowered my voice even more, "Where is the spot?" For a moment neither of us said anything, I was starting to believe he wasn't going to tell me, when his eyes took on a look of resolve.

Whispering again, barely loud enough for me to hear, he confessed, "The small of my back."

I lifted my hand. "Where? Here?" I guessed as I gently placed my fingertips against his spine. He guided my hand down just an inch or so lower. I knew when I'd reached it. He shuddered slightly and looked up to meet my eyes. He no longer looked worried, he looked as though a huge burden had been taken off his shoulders. I couldn't control the warmth welling up within me. Here was Percy, giving me something I'd once never thought could be mine; even if I spent the rest of my lifetime searching for it: complete trust.

"You saved me," he said, and I could have sworn that the emotion in his eyes as he did so was plain as day. Love. "Thanks." And we stayed that way for a while, holding hands as we watched the sun rise. Maybe I'd always known we would end up this way, maybe we both had. As illogical as it seemed: I'd fallen in love with the son of the sea god. For once, my rational side didn't argue with me.

**A/N: One again, if you've made it this far, you're the best. Reviews mean the world to me!**


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